[SOLVED] Is it still worth upgrading this year?

Unsounded

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Hey


So i am someone who always likes being the person with the strongest pc arround but at the same time someone who can't be trusted to handle tech and also someone who is either messing around in VR or doing multiple things at once for example: Youtube on one monitor, ff14 on another and discord on the last with a shamefull ammount of chrome tabs open so i don't forget things. And sometimes some video editing.

My current computer is still by all means a pretty powerful machine and is an upgraded prebuild by which i mean i put in a slightly better psu, More ram and a better graphics card, In other words the parts that even someone as bad with computers like me can upgrade without risk of breaking anything.
I know a friend who needs a better pc so i am tempted to buy a new prebuild but most people say i should just wait for next year when some new things are supposed to come out.

My current CPU is a Ryzen 9 3900x while the new pc would have a Ryzen 9 5900x
My current CPU is a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER while the new pc would have a MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti SUPRIM X 12G
My current PSU would be upgraded from a 800W bronze to a 1000w platinum but i might downgrade that a little.

I think those are the most important changes.



While i know that my current PC is already a very good machine i still occasionally get into situations that make me wonder if i should upgrade mainly when multitasking(multiple games) or recording in VR and the temptation to have a stronger pc to show off is there too.




I know a lot of stuff is meant to come out next year but i wonder if that is going to mean that everything from this year is going to skydive in usefulness quickly? I know prices are going to drop when the new stuff comes out but i don't have the patience.
 
Solution
I fully endorse spending on something you touch and use every day.
Since you have the budget, I would say go ahead.

1. The 5900X would be a good upgrade, particularly since the single thread performance upgrade is very good.
This does not require a new pc. Just update the bios on your motherboard before you swap the chips. You will still have 24 threads which I would consider as plenty for heavy multitasking. Make certain that you have sufficient ram to hold all of the active threads.
Look at task manager performance monitor for memory. If you see a hard fault page rate above zero, you can use more ram.

2. 3080ti looks to be a good graphics upgrade. Perhaps a simple 3080 would be ok. 4k gaming reviews I have seen seem to...

Unsounded

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Someone told me that if i upgrade my psu i could also make a 3080 work once i can get my hands on it but i don't know if that is true. My motherboard is a MPG X570 GAMING EDGE WIFI


Edit: Before anyone says it i could get a 3090 suprim aswell but from what i have been told even for intense VR those are overkill so i can't come up with an argument for that and the 3080Ti seems like the better option.
 
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Unsounded

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Someone told me to take a look at the aurora 12 and while the price is not bad i hate what that case looks like with a passion. I prefer a more standard tower look myself over anything like that.
 
Worth is something only YOU can determine.

If money is no object, go ahead.
cpu and gpu upgrades are good.

What is the make/model of your psu?
Bronze/platinum are efficiency ratings and not necessarily indicative of quality.
On the power supply, quality counts more than wattage.
Here is a handy chart for suggested wattage:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
If your 800w psu is of top quality, the wattage is sufficient even for a 3090 card.

Whatever you buy today will be old in a year or two.
Both intel and amd will have new processors that need new motherboards as well as ddr5 ram.
 

Unsounded

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Hmm i thought i had an 800w in here but since i can't open up my pc atm i checked the site i get most of my pc parts from and the only psu i find there that i bought is a Sharkoon WPM Gold ZERO 650W so either i got confused or i lost a psu because i sure don't have a spare one.
 
Hmm i thought i had an 800w in here but since i can't open up my pc atm i checked the site i get most of my pc parts from and the only psu i find there that i bought is a Sharkoon WPM Gold ZERO 650W so either i got confused or i lost a psu because i sure don't have a spare one.
Looks like your psu is a marginal tier c unit on this list:

Time, I think to upgrade to a top quality unit in the750-850W range.
Something with a 7 to 10 year warranty.
Seasonic focus would be in the top group.
 

DSzymborski

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Eek, would not use this PSU with a high-end system. It's not one of the bad Sharkoon PSUs, but it's a middling one. In typical Sharkoon fashion, the PSU looks superficially good, then you see they've gone with the dirt-cheapest implementation of a good platform internally, with things like lots of lower-tier 85-degree capacitors. The two-year warranty was embarrassing a decade ago; it's pure🤡now.
 

DSzymborski

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As for value, it's hard to say. You're not quite clear what the actual budget constraints are and there's not much in your given use case, other than a simple desire to have high-end hardware just for the purpose of having high-end hardware, that would scream a rebuild is necessary. Knowing what types of games you play and at what resolution would helpful as well.
 

Unsounded

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I'd prefer to keep it around 4000 euro if possible but going over that is not a crime. The psu i had in mind so far was a be quiet! Straight Power 11 Platinum 1000W but that seems like it might be overkill if a good 850 does the job too.

Other than that the games that tend to be most taxing are things like Vr games in general, Games like Vrchat in bussy places, When i play busy servers in Gmod, And can't forget my tendency to mod the life out of anything ranging from kenshi to skyrim. I also want to get back into playing and recording warframe among others. While i plan to upgrade to 4k monitors in the future at the moment my main monitor is a 27GL850 (LG 27GL850 Ultragear - QHD Nano IPS Gaming Monitor - 144hz - 27 inch).
 
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I fully endorse spending on something you touch and use every day.
Since you have the budget, I would say go ahead.

1. The 5900X would be a good upgrade, particularly since the single thread performance upgrade is very good.
This does not require a new pc. Just update the bios on your motherboard before you swap the chips. You will still have 24 threads which I would consider as plenty for heavy multitasking. Make certain that you have sufficient ram to hold all of the active threads.
Look at task manager performance monitor for memory. If you see a hard fault page rate above zero, you can use more ram.

2. 3080ti looks to be a good graphics upgrade. Perhaps a simple 3080 would be ok. 4k gaming reviews I have seen seem to indicate that 3080 is about right. If/when a future cpu/mobo/ram upgrade arrives, such a card can be easily moved.

3. Your psu plan looks good. I think I would stick with 850w. Nothing wrong with 1000w though. A psu will only use the power demanded of it. Efficiency might be a tad less since a psu will operate most efficiently in the middle third of it's range.
Also, as manufacturing technologies advance to smaller technologies, power loads are likely to decrease.

4. I highly suggest you shop for your 4k upgrade first. A larger, higher resolution monitor can be very immersive for gaming.
Desktop work benefits from more display real estate. Keep your 27" unit as a side monitor for static stuff like email and performance monitors.
I recently upgraded to a 48" LG OLED TV. The image is stunning and with a 3000 series graphics card, the refresh rate is 120hz.
(60hz with your 2080 because of insufficient hdmi level)
You can always change the resolution and settings to a lesser level if you need better performance.
But, owning the 4k display will let you better understand what you need for graphics.
 
Solution

Unsounded

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I have 32GB ram atm which i would assume is still enough. (Corsair 32 GB DDR4-3200 Kit)

The price difference between a 3080 and 3080Ti is smaller than i thought so might as well.

as for psu i can go with either "BE QUIET! STRAIGHT POWER 11 PLATINUM 850W VOEDING" Or "CORSAIR RM850X (2021) 850W VOEDING" i see two versions of the corsair psu so i assume this is a newer version.

As far as that monitor goes i held off on getting a 4k monitor because my 2080 Super is not ideal for that but perhaps worth a try. Personally i am not a fan of ultra wide monitors. My middle monitor is a 27 inch, Left is a 27 inch too and right is an older 24 inch. I can probably make 3 27 inch monitors work but if i still want 3 an ultra wide is not an option either way.
 

Mickieg1994

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If i were you, i'd get the 3080, the power supply, then 64gb of ram and then i would consider waiting for everything else, as the market at the moment is all over the place and it at the very least makes it difficult to get the parts you want for the prices that they are worth, things are slowly improving but this takes along time. AM5 is coming, ddr5 is coming too and by this point 4k gaming will become more standard, more accessible with more kinks ironed out

Instead i would ask if you are frustrated by the performance of your pc right now? is there something that you really need to do with your pc that you can't do now? if so, then spending the money is more alleviating a problem, than satiating a want, at that point if you want to spend 4k or more you can get a monster prebuilt, with all the parts you want and have 2 functioning computers, rather than just an upgrade, you will have a flashy pc to show off and sell after a year or two and upgrade again, the other could be for video editing, streaming, storage, whatever you wanted, that would be my advice
 

Unsounded

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Its usually when i am doing heavy modding or intense VR that i find myself wishing i had some more to work with. Whether that justifies anything i guess depends on who you ask. I know i have the option to wait so i just need to decide now how urgent it is to me.
 

Mickieg1994

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Its usually when i am doing heavy modding or intense VR that i find myself wishing i had some more to work with. Whether that justifies anything i guess depends on who you ask. I know i have the option to wait so i just need to decide now how urgent it is to me.

What is your ram usage like when doing that? both system and vram, i'm curious as you may feel a noticeable benefit in just going from 32 to 64gb, depending on how much you are already using it may make a big difference, especially when multitasking

if you are running lots of mods and vr then you may be interested in the amd cards as they have more vram than some of the rtx cards, which will aid the situation somewhat, plus if you do decide to upgrade to a 5900x, you will be able to take advantage of the new amd features with the cpu gpu combo

By that point, the psu you will be getting to power all that would need to be a beefy unit, there are tier lists available from reliable reviewers, they will tell you much more about the build quality of the unit and how much wattage you really need, Linked here is one of them